Homestyle biscuits & gravy

GravyHey, y’all! What do you get when you mix two hearty comfort foods? A southern breakfast that will stick to your ribs and put a smile on your face, of course!

Utensils required: cookie sheet, deep-sided skillet, whisk, spatula, oven, ladle, oven mitts, plate, paper towels, tablespoon

Ingredients:

– 1 roll of sausage (We use Jimmy Dean sage sausage for added flavor)

– 1/2 gallon of milk

– 4 tbsp. flour

– 2 cans of large, Southern-style biscuits

Time commitment: 30 minutes

Steps (serves 6-8; gravy and biscuits stay well when refrigerated separately):

1. Cut the sausage into slices and drop it into the skillet. Fry the sausage in its own juices on medium heat until they’re lightly browned and no longer pink in the middle.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, or whatever temperature the biscuits require (see directions on package).

3. As the sausage slices cook, remove them from the skillet and set them on a plate lined with paper towels. The towels will absorb excess grease.

4. With the remaining sausage drippings left in the skillet, add a tablespoon of flour and stir it with a whisk. Keep adding tablespoons of flour (up to four) until it creates a thin paste.

5. Continually stir the mixture with the whisk until the ingredients start to simmer. Congratulations! You’ve just created a roux!

6. Before turning the roux into gravy, pop open the cans of biscuits and place them on a cookie sheet. Put them in the oven and cook them according to the package’s directions.

biscuit dough

7. Add a quarter cup of milk and stir it continually. The gravy will appear thin, but it will thicken as you stir it over the heat. Gradually add in more milk — about another quarter cup — letting the mixture thin out, and then stirring it over the heat until it thickens into a hearty white gravy. Repeat this step until you have as much gravy as you need.

8. Once you’ve created enough gravy for you and your hungry roomies (or whoever you’re feeding), chop up the sausage into small, bite-sized pieces and stir them into the mixture.

9. To serve (in case you’ve never been fortunate enough to taste such a Southern delicacy): Slice a biscuit open and drizzle a nice amount of gravy over the top.